Everybody is born an atheist; people only believe in God because others have told them to, generally at a very young age. If you were born in a different part of the world you wouldn't be a Christian.

First, a study done here with children completely refutes the claim that children are born atheists. In fact this study concludes the exact opposite! Additionally, a study done here makes conclusions that are completely contrary to the claim that people only believe in God because of some sort of outside indoctrination (most likely at a young age).

Second, although some believers may believe because someone else told them, that certainly is not the case for all believers. More importantly, the truth of something (ontology) is not dependent, and cannot be determined by the methods of how someone came across that (epistemology).

Epistemology is about HOW we acquire knowledge (i.e. ‘believers were told to believe’). Ontology is WHAT knowledge is in the world and whether it corresponds to reality (i.e. ‘what believers believe IS irrational’).

The atheist who tries to argue this way is making the classic blunder of using epistemology (how we came across knowledge) to make claims and conclusions about ontology (the reality and truthfulness of the knowledge).

If young Joey rolled dice to come up with what 2+2 equals, could we dismiss all outcomes as true simply because of the illogical method he used to come up with the answer? If Joey rolled a 4, we wouldn’t say “Sorry Joey but 2+2 does not equal 4 because the method you used is illogical.” We could say his method was illogical, but we couldn’t make ontological claims about the conclusion simply because of the method used to get the answer. You have to examine claims, conclusions, or answers based on their own merits (their own logicality) independent of how someone acquired the knowledge.

As for believers believing in God because someone told them, consider the following former atheists who became believers, not because someone told them, but because they examined and followed the evidence where it led:

The story of Antony Flew is especially intriguing because he was like the Richard Dawkins (prominent outspoken atheist) of his time.Professor Antony Flew is a British philosopher, known for decades as one of the world's most outspoken and prominent atheists. Professor Flew expressed his deist views in 2007 with the release of his book (There is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind). Professor Flew's conversion was based primarily on the growing body of scientific evidence that points to the existence of a supreme creator. Lee Strobel was for many years a hard-nosed journalist and atheist. As Strobel set out to confirm justification for his atheism, he unexpectedly, found that the evidence he encountered led him instead to the Christian faith. He is now a pastor, producer, and author of several very successful books. Josh McDowell set out to disprove the Christian faith as a college student only to arrive, after many months of study, at the conclusion that Jesus Christ must have been who he claimed to be. McDowell wrote the classic book “Evidence that Demands a Verdict.”Francis S. Collins M.D. Ph.D. is a physician-geneticist, famous for his landmark discoveries of disease genes, and his leadership of the Human Genome Project. An atheist at the completion of graduate school, Collins later became a believer as a result of philosophical and scientific considerations. His conversion and reasons for belief are detailed in his very readable book "The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief". Dr. Ralph O. Muncaster was an atheist with a skeptical nature and sharp critical thinking skills. While doing research to dispute the Bible, Dr. Muncaster, was surprised to find evidence that supports the Bible's claims. As a result, Dr. Muncaster now helps those with skeptical minds as they seek the Evidence of God Dr. Hugh Ross was the youngest person ever to serve as director of observations for Vancouver's Royal Astronomical Society. After testing the scientific and historical data, Dr. Ross became convinced that the Bible is truly the Word of God.Allan R. Sandage is a famous scientist who had won numerous esteemed scientific awards. At age 50 he became a Christian. "I find it quite improbable that such order came out of chaos. There has to be some organizing principle. God to me is a mystery but is the explanation for the miracle of existence, why there is something instead of nothing." - Alan Sandage

Sir William Ramsay, who spent 15 years attempting to undermine Luke’s credentials as a historian, and to refute the reliability of the New Testament, finally concluded: "Luke is a historian of the first rank . . . This author should be placed along with the very greatest of historians.” Ramsey converted to Christianity and wrote several books on his discoveries that have yet to be refuted.

Andre Kole was a giant in the world of magic, creating tricks for the greatest magicians in the world including making the statue of liberty disappear for David Copperfield. He was commissioned to study the miracles of the bible to expose them as magic tricks and thus disprove its legitimacy. Through this investigation, Andre Kole became a Christian and has since dedicated himself to spreading the Gospel via the art of magic, performing in more countries than any other magician in history.

J. Warner Wallacewas a conscientious and vocal atheist through his undergraduate and graduate work in Design and Architecture (CSULB and UCLA); he always considered himself to be an “evidentialist”. His experience in law enforcement only served to strengthen his conviction that truth is tied directly to evidence. But at the age of thirty-five, J. Warner took a serious and expansive look at the evidence for the Christian Worldview and determined that Christianity was demonstrably true.

And last but not least, consider the ﻿founder of Harvard Law School and his quest to expose the “myth” of Christ:﻿ Dr. Greenleaf, the Royal Professor of Law at Harvard University, was one of the greatest legal minds that ever lived. He wrote the famous legal volume entitled, A Treatise on the Law of Evidence, considered by many the greatest legal volume ever written.

Dr. Greenleaf was an agnostic and mocked Christianity. One semester Dr. Greenleaf was challenged to take his 3 volumes on the Laws of Legal Evidence and apply those principles to the resurrection of Christ. Dr. Simon Greenleaf believed the Resurrection of Jesus Christ was a hoax. And he determined, once and for all, to expose the "myth" of the Resurrection. After thoroughly examining the evidence for the resurrection — Dr. Greenleaf came to the exact opposite conclusion! He wrote a book entitled, An Examination of the Testimony of the Four Evangelists by the Rules of Evidence Administered in the Courts of Justice. In which he emphatically stated: "It was IMPOSSIBLE that the apostles could have persisted in affirming the truths they had narrated, had not JESUS CHRIST ACTUALLY RISEN FROM THE DEAD, . . ." (Simon Greenleaf, An Examination of the Testimony of the Four Evangelists by the Rules of Evidence Administered in the Courts of Justice, p.29).

Greenleaf concluded that according to the jurisdiction of legal evidence the resurrection of Jesus Christ was the best supported event in all of history! And not only that, Dr. Greenleaf was so convinced by the overwhelming evidence, he committed his life to Jesus Christ!

For many committed atheists the stories above are still not enough. Some will respond with,“Show me someone that has spontaneously become a believer without outside influence." For those who request something like this, I offer the following: